Last Day at the Beach

Last day at the beach The wind is warm, painted with the soft hues of dusk All is open and cool and free Wet sand beneath my feet, cool and gritty between my curled toes A brown beach, speckled with white and black, stretches before me Last day at the beach The seagulls wheel and cry overhead— Last day, last day, last day Salt air, clean and alive, Like airy ocean, a sea you can breathe The sun is setting now, painting the sky soft red and orange and mirrored in the waves Last day at the beach The breakers wash against the sand Shh-shh, shh, shh-shh, shh-shh The oceanic lullaby The air is warm, the sea is cool—a place of harmony The sand is piled here and there, resting after a day of castles and moats While the tide curves gently in, washing the beach smooth again A few lonely crabs scuttle here and there, trying to escape the ocean’s advance The wind stirs again, now cool and heavy with night scent, carrying the sound of crickets to me Crickets and the mourning dove’s cry Last day at the beach Last day at the beach

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